


Love is Sweet, Love is Mighty

by Rainne



Series: Sweetest, Mightiest [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Animal Instincts, Baby Fic, Childbirth, Dom/sub Undertones, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Multi, Nesting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 14:06:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3211928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainne/pseuds/Rainne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Love is sweet, devotion is sweeter, surrender is sweetest.<br/>Love is sweet. I have felt this truth in my mother's spontaneous love for me.</p><p>Devotion is sweeter. I have discovered this truth in my mother's pure devotion towards the perfection of my life</p><p>Surrender is the sweetest. I have realised this truth in my mother's constant surrender towards the fulfilment of my joy."</p><p>~Guru Sri Chinmoy</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love is Sweet, Love is Mighty

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know whether to blame [amusewithaview](http://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview) or [suzukiblu](http://archiveofourown.org/users/suzukiblu) for this one. Let's be safe and go with both.

The trouble with Tony Stark was not that he was entirely too fucking clever for his own good. It was, in Darcy Lewis's opinion, that he _knew it._

She found the closet by accident.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She'd been looking for something closet-like; that was, she'd been looking, very specifically, for something small and dark and warm that could be easily lined with pillows and soft blankets, and closed off from the rest of the apartment if necessary. The fact that he'd built exactly that sort of thing into their living room _with a hidden door that slid into the floor for added security_ was the kind of thing that made her simultaneously want to hug him and punch him in the face.

The fact that it was a nesting closet was immediately obvious the moment Darcy peered into the open space: the walls were lined with something soft, the floor was covered in velvety cushions, and the lighting was indirect enough to be easy on a newborn's eyes while still bright enough to read by. When she stepped inside, she found a dropdown television screen suspended from the ceiling, and that the walls opened to reveal several empty shelves that would be perfect for books and supplies as well as a mini-fridge. The only thing the space lacked was its own private bathr--

Nope. A small section opened in the wall that was shared with the downstairs half-bath, which could be locked from the inside. It was the most secure and perfect nesting spot any Omega could have possibly wanted.

"JARVIS," Darcy said, "where did this come from, and why did it just open now?"

"All of the family quarters in the tower are equipped with similar features," the AI assured her. "The doors respond to reproductive hormone levels."

"So if I never got pregnant, the door would never open?"

"That is correct."

"Huh." Darcy stared into the space for a long moment before saying, "Well, I guess I ought to make use of it, huh?"

"As you wish, Miss Lewis."

And she did – very much. The nesting closet was perfect – exactly the kind of small, safe space she needed to bring her pups into the world. Omegas had been giving birth for millennia, with very little trouble. The process was as instinctive as anything else in life, generally painless or next to, and accomplished best with minimal fuss. She recalled from her history studies that there had been, on occasion, movements to medicalize the birth process, including a recent push by some doctors just after World War II to standardize birthing in hospitals, of all places. They were, of course, sometimes needed - if an Omega was having a particularly large litter, for example, or was in medical danger for some other reason - but most Omegas preferred the close, quiet safety of nesting closets and the idea of having a standard birth in a bright, cold hospital room full of medical personnel had just never really caught on.

Darcy wasn't having a particularly large litter; in fact, according to her ultrasounds, she wasn't having a litter at all - just the one pup. And she was perfectly healthy, as was the baby. So she didn't worry about a thing. She just set about prepping the space as she liked it – which started with packing the mini-fridge with protein shakes and bottles of water and juice. She tucked her Kindle and her StarkPad into one of the shelves behind the wall, along with several favorite paperbacks. Another set of shelves took what she liked to call the Baby Starter Kit: a package of disposable diapers, several sets of newborn clothing, wipes, powder, and other essential supplies for a newborn baby - hopefully enough to see her through the nesting period and into the aftermath, when she would be willing and able to bring the pup out of the closet and into the bigger world.

Once that was accomplished, she started collecting blankets. There were several of them in the apartment, and she'd want them, even with all the cushions already on the floor of the nest, for warmth and for scent. Bucky came into the apartment just as she brought the last of them: the actual coverlet off the bed that the three of them shared. He stood in the middle of the living room and watched as she fought with the king-sized comforter, struggling to get it through the door of the nesting closet.

He knew better than to help her; Omegas at the tail end of their reproductive cycle tended to be snappish - literally. Instead, he waited until she'd gotten it in and the sounds from inside the closet indicated that she was getting it settled the way she wanted it, and he approached the door carefully. "Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey," she replied. "Come in, it's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's nice, but it still smells sterile."

He kicked his shoes off and entered the small closet in his sock feet; she was curled up toward the back, one arm over her rounded belly, the other extended toward him. Thus invited, he joined her, lying down on the thick cushions and cuddling her close. "So, nesting closet," he said.

"Yeah," she replied, laughing softly. "JARVIS says the door responds to reproductive hormones. Trust Tony Stark to design a nesting closet that only opens up when your nesting instincts kick in."

He chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "Guess that means it'll be soon."

Darcy nodded, snuggling against him. "Not more than a day or so."

Bucky hummed softly. "Do... you want Steve there?" he asked. Some Omegas liked to have their Alpha with them when they gave birth; others preferred to be alone.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe?" Then she reached out and rested a hand on his cheek. "But if Steve's there, you need to be there, too."

Bucky's eyes slid to the side, avoiding hers. "You should be with him."

"I should be with _both of you,_ " she replied, her voice firm. "Especially considering that we don't actually know yet which one of you is the sire."

Bucky sighed. "Darce," he said, "you know the chances are better that it's him. Betas don't breed well with Omegas."

"Yeah, and I also know that if you go by _chances,_ the chances are that you and Steve ought to both either be in a care home or dead by now, and me stuck with some godawful farm-Alpha my father picked out. Instead, all three of us are right here right now doing what we do, so I say the chances can go fuck themselves."

He leaned in and kissed her, very gently. "I love you," he murmured against her lips when he finally released them. "And I'm so glad you decided to be our Omega."

"You damn well ought to be," she replied, grinning. "I'm a catch." And she leaned up to nip at his lower lip with her sharp little teeth.

When Steve entered the apartment just a few minutes later, he followed the soft whimpering cries to the door of the nesting closet and leaned against the open doorway, watching as Bucky mounted Darcy from behind and rode her until they were both panting and whimpering and the closet was full of the smell of both of them. He judged their arousal by the pitch of their cries and waited until he was fairly sure that Darcy was just about to come before speaking. "Is this a private party, or can anyone join?"

Both of their heads snapped up and they froze in place. "Alpha," Bucky whined.

"No, no, by all means," Steve replied, grinning like his cock wasn't making a visible bulge in the front of his jeans. "Please carry on." He made a show of looking around the little space. "This is nice. Tony does good work."

Darcy cried out as Bucky ground into her deeply. " _Alpha._ "

Steve chuckled. "May I enter, Omega?"

" _Please,_ " she whined.

"Beta," Steve said softly. "Come."

Bucky bared his teeth at his Alpha and, snarling, took several more frantic thrusts before shoving in deep and hard and coming inside Darcy. She whimpered, grinding back against him, but he slid out of her, shifting and giving way to Steve, whose bulk seemed to fill the tiny closet as he entered.

Steve stepped around Darcy where she lay prone in the cushions and knelt between her legs, running a gentle hand up one thigh and around to stroke the curve of her belly. "Everything okay?" he murmured.

"Fine, Alpha," she replied, shivering a little under his touch. "Everything's perfect. It just doesn't smell right, I want it to smell right for our baby."

"Well then," Steve said, his voice still soft. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the curve of Darcy's ass. "Beta," he said, looking up at Bucky. "Hold her."

Bucky's hands descended on Darcy's wrists and he gripped them, holding them firmly against the cushions. Steve crouched over her, unfastening his pants and pushing them down just far enough to let his cock spring out, his knot half-blown already. He fitted the head of his cock to her entrance and leaned over, bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders, and set his teeth against the side of her neck.

Darcy whined under him, piercing and desperate, and he shoved himself in to the root in one thrust, biting down on the side of her neck as he seated himself inside her. Darcy struggled under him, her body fighting instinctively - though whether to get closer or get away, she never could say - and Bucky snarled at her, his hands holding her tightly even as Steve fucked into her. "That's it," Steve growled into her ear. "Fight me, Omega!"

She did; she fought hard, but in the end it was, of course, a fruitless fight, even without the unfair advantage of Bucky holding her down. He was her Alpha and she would always give way to him, and when he knotted her, she howled in completion.

They slumped together onto the cushions and Bucky, chuckling, went to the kitchen for water. When he returned, Steve was combing Darcy's hair back from her face and tying it back with a hair tie for her. Bucky handed them both water bottles and then flopped down onto the cushions beside them with his own. "Well," he said after a moment, "it definitely doesn't smell sterile in here any more."

Darcy laughed, soft and tired. "It smells _delicious_ in here now," she said, her voice going slightly dreamy. "My Alpha. My Beta."

"Our Omega," Steve murmured against her ear. "Go to sleep, sweetheart."

She whined, reaching out to grab Bucky's hand - the metal one - and pull him close to her. "Stay," she demanded.

He chuckled softly, reaching out to grab the comforter from the upstairs bed and pull it over the three of them. "I'll stay," he promised. "You sleep."

"Kay," she murmured, and then she was gone.

When she woke up, she was alone. She could hear Steve and Bucky rattling around out in the kitchen, Steve teasing Bucky in that low rumbling voice and Bucky, slightly higher and infinitely more sassy, teasing back. She stretched her body, warm and safe and content in her little closet, and then relaxed softly into the cushions, a distant ache thrumming in her lower back. "JARVIS," she murmured, "can you lower the lights a little more? And maybe raise up the door halfway?"

Rather than responding verbally, JARVIS simply complied; he also, inexplicably, slid a panel back at the base of the wall and, with the assistance of a tiny bot, rolled a sheet of a cheap but ridiculously soft fabric out to cover the floor. Darcy whined slightly in discontent when the bot made her shift, but she settled in again fairly quickly. "What's that about, JARVIS?" she asked, watching the bot slice the fabric off the roll and then close itself back up behind the panel.

"The fabric is waterproof," JARVIS replied.

"Ohhh," Darcy breathed softly. She shifted a little bit on the soft surface, feeling that ache pull through her again, then blinked up at the half-closed door and made a connection in her mind. " _Ohh._ "

"Would you like me to summon - "

"No," she murmured. "I've got this." She stood up and opened the supply cabinet, taking out the soft cloths she'd stashed there earlier, and then she laid back down and relaxed her body and her mind.

She whined softly to herself as the cramps began to worsen, shifting restlessly in her cradle of pillows. She wished, just for a second, that she had her mother, that her bonding with Steve and Bucky hadn't resulted in her alienation from her family. She could've used her mother's advice and comfort. She'd read extensively about the whelping process online, but that was no substitute, really.

She considered calling Steve or Bucky – or both – to come and be with her, to support her. But she didn't want them. She wasn't even sure she could stand to have them in the room with her, much less touching her. Her skin crawled at the very idea, even as her hands fell to her rounded stomach and, taking the advice of a prominent mommy-blogger from Chicago, rubbed at the cramping muscles.

Despite the intermittent pain of the cramps, she lost track of time, floating in the warmth of the little closet and the scent of her Alpha and her Beta, and the sounds of them outside, and the coursing hormones inside her body that told her muscles what to do. She closed her eyes and listened to the pulls from within her, feeling the baby shift and slide, dropping lower and lower inside of her. Finally, a moment came when her body took over from her mind and she found herself pushing.

She rose to her knees, bracing herself against the wall with one hand the way she'd seen it done on several websites, and reached down with the other to catch her baby as it entered the world. She took one of the soft cloths and cleaned the fluids from the baby's face and body, in the process discovering to her delight that she held a tiny male in her hands.

She lifted him to her shoulder and rested her cheek against the soft, dark fuzz on top of his head. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath of his scent, imprinting it into her heart and mind and soul. _Mine,_ she thought softly. _My pup._ Even still sticky from the birth process, he smelled beautiful to her – a cinnamon-sugar mix of her own scent and Steve's, with a heaviness on the back of her tongue that told her he was a Beta.

Feeling strangely victorious, she laid back again, resting the baby on her chest to wait out the rest of the process. She dozed a bit as she lay there, one hand on her son's tiny back and his little dark head resting between her breasts, until a sound made her look up and she saw her Alpha and her Beta standing there at the door, both looking awestruck. She smiled softly at them. "Hey," she murmured.

"Hey," Bucky replied, his voice soft and a little scratchy. Steve couldn't manage to speak at all, and Bucky laughed softly. "You want some help with the cleanup?" he asked.

Darcy considered for a moment, and finally nodded. It _would_ be nice to be able to lie directly on her own blankets, and the baby might start itching if he wasn't cleaned soon. "JARVIS," Darcy said simply, and the door slid away again. Steve stumbled into the tiny room and went to his knees beside her, and she sat up a little bit, turning the baby so that Steve could see him.

"A boy," Steve murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to Darcy's temple, and then shifting a bit when she turned her shoulder in offering and nosing against the baby's neck, breathing deeply of his scent. "A little Beta boy."

Darcy nodded. She bit her lip. "I... I know you wanted an Alpha, but..."

"Darce, no," Steve cut her off, pressing a fingertip to her lips. "I didn't _want_ anything except for you and the baby to be healthy, that's all. Girl, boy, Alpha, Beta, Omega, it doesn't matter to me. He's perfect, and so are you."

She nodded, sniffling a little but smiling as Bucky came in with some more soft cloths, these damp. "Here," he murmured, handing her some of them. "You clean him up." Both men knew better than to try and touch the baby yet; even though she had let them come in, it didn't mean she was going to let them go that far. Instead, Bucky gently cleaned the evidence of the birth off of her skin, then he and Steve took the soiled towels and sheet out of the closet while she cleaned the baby carefully, powdered his tender skin, and then swaddled him up.

When they came back from disposing of the soiled items, she was relaxed against a pile of cushions, a blanket pulled up over her legs and stomach, nursing the baby. They waited to be invited back in and then they joined her, curling up on either side to take in his tiny, beautiful face and the eager way he applied himself to her breast.

"What are we going to call him?" Bucky asked softly, taking the opportunity to lean in and scent the baby himself. If he felt a pang when he scented Steve's parentage on the child, he didn't show it; he just pressed a soft kiss to the crown of the baby's head and another to Darcy's temple before settling back down.

"We're not naming him after anyone on my side of the family," Darcy said firmly.

Steve shook his head. "What about Patrick?" he asked.

"You are so very, _very_ Irish," Darcy teased. "I'm okay with Patrick. What for a middle name?"

There was a long moment while each of them tried out different names in their heads, to see what went. Finally, Bucky suggested, "Brendan."

"I like it," Darcy said. "Patrick Brendan Rogers-Barnes."

Both men looked down at the baby. "That's a mouthful," Steve commented.

"He'll be okay," Bucky replied. "He's got us to back him up."


End file.
